Overview

• United Nations-designated International Moon Day on July 20 honors Apollo 11’s 1969 touchdown and the estimated 600 million people who watched the live broadcast.
• Pope Leo XIV placed a call to Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin from the Vatican Observatory to mark the 56th anniversary of humanity’s first lunar steps.
• NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission is set to orbit the Moon in April 2026, renewing human journeys beyond low Earth orbit for the first time in over five decades.
• Post-flight analysis of Artemis I uncovered unexpected carbonization in the Orion capsule’s heat shield, leading to design enhancements for crew safety.
• Artemis III has been pushed from 2026 to mid-2027 with plans for a lunar south-pole landing and follow-on efforts to tap water-ice resources for sustained exploration.